Drones for Cinematography

TV and film have evolved thanks to the vast capacity of aerial cinematography supported by drones. They can capture incredible content in otherwise difficult to film environments, facilitating better quality imaging and finishes. So, what value do drones offer to this industry?

Benefits of drones for film and TV

A versatile array of shots

With the right technique and sensors, drones can capture better angles than regular filming cameras. Skilled pilots can capture still shots with motionless drones. They can also capture crane shots, which includes the pan shot through mounted camera motion, the pedestal shot and the tracking shot. The side-slide and orbit-by shots are facilitated by drones in a way that regular filming cameras just cant match. Drones can move freely, whether laterally or vertically, allowing for an even greater range of shots.

The potential for new and interesting types of shots, including starting from the foreground, the detail-rich shot, orbit and line of sight shots makes them an important tool for cinematography. With drones, films have been able to incorporate true variety for better overall presentation.

Price

Drone cinematography is cheaper and far more effective. With one drone and a certified pilot, you will be able to offset the output of an entire film crew. Multiple drones could work to diversify the output for better personalized work, reducing the time taken during editing.

The return on investment for drone cinematography far outweighs that of regular film equipment. With the right staff and planning, you could be able to reduce production time without affecting the quality of output.

HD quality

Digital imaging has made it possible for high quality imaging. The quality of photography provided by drones has made significant improvement, with drones almost being able to produce images of as high quality as regular filming equipment. Drones can take images and videos in 4K quality, which is just as high a standard as most film crews will use.

The potential for high quality imaging makes drones an ideal replacement for the bulky and expensive film equipment. With drones, producers can still develop high quality content for the screen, and achieve this at a reduced cost.

Filming locations

Many producers will develop their cinematography sets in limited locations and embrace the use of green screen and other editing technology to get their desired quality. This is because it can be expensive and impractical to ferry camera equipment to specific locations, due to their increased difficulty of access and potential for damage.

Drones allow filmographies to expand their capacity by providing unlimited access to all types of filming conditions for an authentic and high quality presentation. With UAVs, a film crew could explore and shoot in otherwise inaccessible locations.

Saves time

Aerial footage has placed strict demands on cinematography in the past. Crews were forced to wait out entire seasons in order to take shots of specific locations. In the past, you either had to hire a helicopter or plane. These are inherently weather dependent, with even the most minor of threats affecting their ability to offer service.

With drones, film crews can travel by motor vehicle and film regardless of the potential weather concerns. Even a 30-minute window for shooting can be useful for drone cinematography, allowing set up and operation. Conversely, helicopters and planes cannot be used so dynamically and in such short spurts of time. The potential to shoot more in the toughest conditions makes the drone an ideal cinematographic tool.